Coral Reefs and Tourism in Egypt's Red Sea

Abstract

The Red Sea has unique marine habitats as coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds. They provide key resources for coastal populations: food, shoreline protection and stabilization, and economic benefits from tourism (Barrania Ahmed, 2010). The location is in a developing country that is highly dependent on tourism as a source of foreign income (Ibrahim and Ibrahim 2003). Also, Red Sea tourism is largely dependent on the surrounding environment such as sand and water quality, and especially coral reefs, which are sensitive to tourist activity, with low government control in the area and growth in private investments.